


Crisis Averted

by fuckup



Series: Sister Witches AU [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Sisters, Witch Petunia Evans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-07 23:00:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11068863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuckup/pseuds/fuckup
Summary: The first time Lily Evans goes to Diagon Alley, she's eight years old, and they're picking up school supplies for her sister, Petunia. Witch!Petunia AU.





	Crisis Averted

The first time Lily Evans falls in love, she’s eight years old. She doesn’t mind literally At All that the feeling can’t go two ways, that she’s not the first and she won’t ever be the last to fall under this loco love spell, but all that’s okay. It’s not that kind of love. It’s almost better than any love she could ever have, with a boy. It’s not charming when boys are dirty, but Absolutely Everything Even The Grimey Cobbles is charming about _Diagon Alley._

Lily’s plaits whip against her neck she whirls around to look at her sister. “Tuney! We should see if they have a church here!” Up until _right now_ they’ve always squabbled on where to have their double wedding, but if Diagon Alley has a Protestant Church on it, they’re deffo set.

Tuney makes a funny little face in reply, but that’s probably from holding in gas from all the nerves. She might not even have heard her. Before Dad can remind her to _go slow_ with Tuney, Lily takes her sister’s hand in her own, and gives it a little squeeze. 

How tight Petunia grips her hand back kind of hurts her knuckles and her fingers, but Lily can brave it, for Tuney. She doesn’t even insist they go see the actual proper real _snakes_ that are hissing away nearby for more than a minute, or two.

They spend a lot of time fussing in Madame Malkin’s shop, both of them poring over different cuts of fabric and choosing which shade of black looks the _least_ black against Tuney’s skin. When Lily realises she’s the only one exclaiming over a bottle green dress robe she thinks will match her own eyes, she asks Tuney which one she thinks will suit her, and gets only a sniff of ‘Not pink’ in reply. Well, Lily knew _that_. Her hair clashes horribly with pink, unlike Tuney’s own blonde.

They’re in there long enough that Dad complains about getting pins and needles from the stool he’s sitting on. It’s actually quite funny really, because Madame Malkin gets huffy over there being no pins nor needles anywhere near him, and Lily is too helpless with the giggles to even help her increasingly alarmed dad explain that ‘pins and needles’ means _cramp_. “It’s so weird that’s not a saying here.” Lily whispers to her sister, and though she says _weird_ what she really means is _interesting_. 

“I don’t think it’s weird at all.” Tuney says back, kind of stiff-like, which is maybe just because she’s being measured for her own robes right now.

“But I didn’t mean anything by it.” Lily says, surprised. “I like weird, you _know_ I do.”

But Petunia just shakes her head, a tiny little bit, like Lily’s being immature, and won’t say anything more about it. She walks out to meet up with Professor Sprout as soon as she’s done with her own trying on sessions, not waiting around for Lily to even _start_ hers. She has to umm and ahhh over the sunset yellow and royal blue dress robes on her own; Dad’s no help, he doesn’t understand why she can’t just go for the bottle green ones she liked first. 

It’s a teensy bit worrying — Lily _hates_ it when there’s even the suggestion of a fight between them — but today is so _lovely_ that she can’t get too bent out of shape about it. Tuney’s probably just tired, or nervous, or warm, or any one other million things that seem to bother Tuney but never do Lily.

“Sometime in the next century, Lily J.” Dad says, poking her in the shoulder a few more times than is needed, which is kind of their secret way of checking that Lily’s okay. 

“I can’t have both, can I?” Lily sighs, smoothing her hands over the yellow and blue both. Knowing she can’t, but still slightly hoping it enough to say it; how much money Petunia’s supplies must be costing them is both a point and a minus in her favour.

Dad snorting isn’t a surprise in the least. “Not on your life.”

Lily bends down enough that she can rub her cheek against the yellow, looks up at her Dad and gives him a wide-eyed smile. He laughs, but it’s still no dice, just like she thought. It takes long enough in her deciding that Dad leaves her with instructions on where to meet up and what they’re both pretty sure is the right money, and goes to check Tuney’s okay with Professor Sprout. Lily doesn’t imagine she wouldn’t be; Professor Sprout is awfully nice, and very informative. 

It’s this realisation that she’s probably missing out on insider knowledge that makes Lily hurry up. Her robes are easier to cut than Tuney, since Lily’s got a rather average build, whereas Petunia is slim and _tall_ in a way that Lily tries not to envy. She’s done in enough time to collect Tuney’s robes as well as her own, and is absurdly pleased that she manages to give over the exact right amount of money for both their robes.

It does get a bit spotty, when they all meet up for ice cream and Lily has two plush bags from Madame Malkin’s under her arm. “She doesn’t need them.” Petunia says, through gritted teeth, talking to Dad like Lily isn’t _right there_. “It’s a _waste_.”

“It’s not.” Lily shoots back, right away, knowing she has to get a word in before Dad can elbow in and ruin it, or even worse — peacemake. “I want to be able to practice walking in robes before I get my letter.”

There’s a moment — just a little one — when Tuney presses her lips together and doesn’t answer right away, that Lily has this awful, fluttery feeling in her stomach that her sister’s going to tell her that she won’t get her letter. Dad already double-checked with Professor Sprout, before she had to rush on back to her garden, that it’s possible but not _certain_ that Lily will be a witch, too.

“You’re not good at wearing long skirts.” Petunia says, and sounds kind of pleased, even though it’s just true. Lily never wears skirts past the knee, if she can help it.

“I’m not.” Lily says, satisfied and glad and greatly relieved, all at once. It _is_ such rubbish when Tuney is sore with her, especially when Lily for the life of her can’t figure out _why_. “Remember Auntie Cheryl’s wedding? I’ll need the practice to not be awful.”

“I’ll help.” Tuney says grandly, just like Lily hoped she would. She brushes herself off, like there’s any need for that, like Tuney ever gets lint on her, or looks anything but perfectly perfect. “We’ll be the most graceful sister witches at Hogwarts.” Tuney decides for the both of them, and Lily’s own chin goes up when she hears the throb of pride that runs through her sister’s voice when she says _sister witches_.

“Crisis averted, then?” Dad says, making it sound like a joke, even though it’s got a tiny bit of truth in it.

Lily rolls her eyes in just the same way, and links her arm through her sister’s as, arm in arm, they set off down the cobbles for a Church. “Don’t be silly, Daddy, I’ll have Tuney looking out for me. There’s never going to be any crisis.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying to write a complete piece of writing of one description or another for every day of June, and this lil' thing is today's. May or may not continue, because I recently went to the Making of HP in London and I have allllllllll the feels. I'm also toying with the idea of making Lily a muggle to Petunia's witch - either in this universe or in au of an au - because HOW INTERESTING would that be? Anyway, hope you enjoyed :)


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